Page 205 - 4 Persian Trade rep KUWAIT 2_Neat

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diameter, these of the second batn 15',.those o£ the and Bcjaz,.obe-;rvcd. a stricter blockade against trad 4
third dliail *13' aad those of the fourth rabi’ah from. Kuwait with, the hinterland and to the general
•11". After being assorted into ras,. batn, etc., depressed state of World Trade. 0/ the total, imr
they change band# at a previously arranged rate ports trado 47*65 por cent. was. with. India,. 23;7.5
at so much the mithqal ’Arabi which is equivalent por cent, with Iraq, 21*11 per cent, with Persian
to W grains. The ordinary pcarl3 then usually Coast, 2*27 per cent, with Arabian Coast. and. 5:21?
pans from ore dealer to another on the more precise par cent, with other countries.
kind of estimate bas«d upon weight. In Kuwait
Bombay mithqal equivalent to 75 grains troy
*u71 sub-divided into 24 rattes each of 15 anahs. is Exports.
usually cmjloved. The unit in the dealers’ system
is called a eaau and although derived from a weight The total exports by s ea amounted to £196,753 and'
it i6 not in itself a weight The number of chaus showed an increase of 7*57' per cent, compared with
in a pearl is found by squariing the weight of the the figures for 1920-30. This is accounted for by
pearl in mithqala and multiplying the result by the known increased export of clarified butter, fish
330. The than is divisible into 100 dukras and the oil, building materials and pearls. Also, pearls of
the aggregate amount of £47,917 are shown in the
dukrah into 100 badams. There arc other kinds
of chaus also occasionally used, and obtained by an tables as having been exported for sale to Indian
markets, accurate figures of these as well as specie
identical process from other mithqals such as the can never be obtained, as both arc nearly always
Poona mitiqal of CS grains. The normal unit of
length is tLe dhira or cubit of 10" but for rope which carried away amongst personal luggage.
is also sold by tho weight, th-o ha or fathom is usually Of the total export trade 45*37 per cent, was
employed. There is no square measure in use with India, 15*97 per cent, with Arab Coast, 13*66
and a plot of ground is described as being so many per cent, with Iraq, 24*76 per cent, with Persian
dhiras according to the sum of its sides. Coast and, *24 per cent, with, other countries.
Tbo y ear 1930-31. Pearl Fishing.
This year also was not. a favourable ono for trade This is the most important trade of Kuwait.
and this wa3 mainly due to there being no trade The Town possesses over 700 pearl boats but naany
with Nejd. Coneeqaently many petty shopkeepers of these have not been to sea fox sometimes due
have left for Bahrein, Jubail and Qatif to seek to the depressed state of the pearl trade. The
employment. The pearl “ catch ” on the whole average number of boats which of recent year*
was good hot the pearl market remained so low visited the banks is not nore than 350 and this figure
that good pearls could be purchased for 50 per cent, has decreased as the market was worse than last
less than previous years. It was however expected year. The Kuwait fishing Sect consists of two
that on tb; advert of some of the well known pearl parts the small boats which fish off the Neutral
merchants that the local market would improve Zone, Sudab and Hezum areas to the South of
and prices of pearls would rise but unfortunately Kuwait and the larger boats wiih 6 to 8 44 Sweeps **
no tangible increase took placo and the financial on either side which go further afield and join np,
condition -A the pearl merchants became so acute with the Bahrein and Qatar fleets. The Kuwait
tbit although they had safes full of pearls most of main pearling fleet works under the eye of an Amir
the merchants were not only unable to pay their al Bahr, or Admiral and no boat is allowed to return
large debts but were not in a position to pay even home witboat sanction. The 44 Rukbah ” is the
the small wages due to the pearling crews. To name given to the commencement of the pearl
ease the situation the Shaikh of Kuwait had to take season, and the “ Guflul ” to the end when all boats
dnstic mta&urcs and forced merchants to cell pro­ return home. The season falls somewhere between
perty even at a loss to discharge their debts. Ac­ 15th May and 15th September.
cording to the Customs export figures 6ome £47,917
worth of pearls were estimated to have been ex­
ported foe sale in India and elsewhere. But this Customs Admmlitratioa and Lighteraf*.
figure as explained under “ Exporta ” cannot be
relied on 9 any way. The administration of the Kuwait Customs is
supervised by a local Arab and the system works
satisfactorily. An import doty of 4 per cent. a4 I
Imports. valorem is charged, sad there is no export duty
The tocal imports by sea amounted to £282.242 except on goods brought in from the interior such
and showed a decrease of 24*09 per cent, as compared as clarified butter, hides, woc4,«tc.,on which 4 per
with the figures for 1929-30. This decrease ran be cent, is charged if exported.
explained by the fact that during the year His freight. Shipping, and Nqrrigdion.—Kuwait own#
Majesty Kujg Abdul Aziz si gaud, Bukr of Nejd 291 sailing vessel# engaged in casing txndq

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